This dish is complex and requires time, but it has dramatic appeal and it is quite delicious with layers of different textures and flavors. I like to add two ingredients that are optional: pomegranate molasses (see page 7), which gives a brown color and sweet-and-sour flavor to the tomato sauce, and tahini (see page 7), which gives a nutty flavor to the yogurt. Look for small eggplants, 4 to 4 1/4 inches long, which can usually be found in Middle Eastern and Asian stores.
You can use up the extracted eggplant flesh for a salad or an omelette. So that it does not discolor, put it in a bowl of water with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Then drain and sauté in olive oil before dressing with lemon juice or mixing with eggs to make an omelette.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
For the eggplant stuffing, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan. Put in the meat and add the salt, pepper, cinnamon, and allspice. Cook over medium-high heat, crushing the meat with a fork and turning it over, for about 5 to 8 minutes, until it has changed color and the liquid has evaporated.
Step 2
In another small frying pan, fry the pine nuts in a drop of oil, shaking the pan to brown them slightly all over. Stir half the pine nuts into the meat.
Step 3
Wash the eggplants, cut a slice off at the stem end, and, using an apple corer, hollow out the flesh. Insert the corer, digging it in while gently turning it, then give a sharp, quick twist as you reach near the end, and pull out the flesh. Repeat this action with the corer, or scrape the sides with a sharp knife to leave a shell with walls about 1/4 inch thick, being careful not to pierce the skin. Fill the cavities with the meat and pine nut mixture.
Step 4
Put the tomatoes in a wide pan with the sugar, a little salt and pepper, and, if you like, the pomegranate molasses. Stir well and simmer for 5 minutes. Put in the eggplants and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, or until the eggplants are very soft, turning them over once.
Step 5
Open out the pita breads by cutting around them with scissors or a serrated knife, and toast them under the broiler until they are crisp and lightly browned. Mix the yogurt with the tahini and garlic, if using.
Step 6
Just before serving, assemble the different components in a wide and deep serving dish. Break the toasted pita breads into small pieces with your hands into the bottom of the dish. Take the eggplants out of the tomato sauce and pour the sauce over the toast, which will become soft and swollen. Pour the yogurt all over the sauce, and arrange the stuffed eggplants on top. Finally, sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts.
